Ready for a dense chat about embarrassment, purpose, and fear of death? Good, because it’s coming for you! Shay went from being an artist and coproducer of Mortified Chicago to adding a more recent passion for being a death doula and funeral celebrant. Throughout those projects, she's asked others how they want to be perceived and remembered by audiences and loved ones, what story they want to be telling. And after leaving her job of 20 years and moving into a van a year and a half ago, she's be...
Oct 11, 2017•1 hr 48 min
Dive in to this inception of a podcast: MBS was on Blank Cassette to talk to Eric Garneau about U Talkin' U2 To Me. On a week by week basis, Eric uses Blank Cassette to interview a guest about a mixtape or playlist they've made in the past and what went into its construction. MBS has been recommending the podcast UTU2TM to him for a while, and after Eric took her up on it, he made a U2 playlist in response to the show. They talk about what makes UTU2TM work so well, how MBS came to love U2, PLUS...
Oct 04, 2017•38 min
Melzer has been mesmerized by Wes Anderson's style since he saw The Royal Tenanbaums in high school, but it was his ability to relate to Rushmore's Max Fischer that cemented Anderson in his pile of people to intake, praise, and emulate. Wander through Wes's filmography with an aspiring filmmaker and learn about how important storyboarding is for Anderson's films, the ways he has brought back classic filmmaking techniques, and the distinctive dialog and powerful aesthetic choices that craft his u...
Sep 27, 2017•1 hr 34 min
Ever since Ben learned to ace Jungle King and Fireball in his family's basement as a kid, he's been a pinball fiend, seeking out machines on boardwalks and at bars so enthusiastically that he eventually founded Pinball Chicago, a league of competitive gamers and compendium of spots in the city that offer pinball. He starts by unpacking the older electromechanical machines versus the much more numerous and modern solid-state machines that brought the replacement of the characteristic bells and ch...
Sep 20, 2017•1 hr 37 min
Ever since he saw Jackie Chan's First Strike at the age of 7, Eli has been a huge fan of Chan. Seeking out every film of his, starting from his vast catalog in China and his American-made films as he became more of a domestic success, Eli is in awe of Chan's martial arts abilities as a performer, stunt choreographer, and director. All of Eli's favorite fights and films are covered as well as some fun facts about the Chinese opera school friends Chan has made the most movies with and his penchant...
Sep 14, 2017•1 hr 39 min
Maria Randazzo starts her week by perusing a couple of horoscope sources, so this conversation starts with signs (sun and rising) and continues through how these messages permeate her day-to-day life and thoughts on spirituality and the world beyond the physical Earth. Just like being a cafeteria Catholic, Maria has learned to pick and choose the things she takes to heart from astrology, mostly via the influence of a very spiritual mentor. She's also looking for someone to sponsor her interest i...
Sep 06, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Clint Worthington developed a love for film as an Illinois farm boy who was admittedly more of an inside, MST3K boy than anything else. Since those days of pirated satellite, he's spent years watching film with a critical eye producing reviews for his own podcasting network at Alcohollywood.com and for Consequence of Sound as well as becoming a member of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. He cites Ebert and Roeper as big influences of course, but there's also a lot of love for some sma...
Aug 30, 2017•1 hr 33 min
Jamison Webb started watching Marx Brothers movies as an ill-sleeping 7-year-old. Since then he's written sketches in their style (The Inappropriate ReMarx Brothers) and spotted their influence in other acts he loves (Stella) as well as becoming aware that they're like The Beatles of comedy: Their influence flows under everything thanks to some of the first comedy films translating the success of their vaudeville stage acts to the screen. All the brothers are broken down by their style and prese...
Aug 23, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Ever since a "Hiking and Haikus" elective course took her to Japan for a month in college, Becca Levine has been enamored with the landscapes and culture of the island nation. She returned post college to teach English to high school students in a small town outside Nagano, and has done everything from traverse a mountain in a monsoon to keep her toothpaste in the fridge to prevent it from freezing during their harsh winters. From the importance placed on natural beauty expressed via poetry to t...
Aug 16, 2017•1 hr 9 min
Since she spawned the nickname "Miss Ann" as a child thanks to her behavior beyond her years, Angela Oliver has known she was an old soul. Passing time with her grandmothers watching TCM and church gossiping, she never stood a chance and only had her perception as an older woman exacerbated by fancy attire from her mother's dress shop. Now, she uses her love of jazz, Rockabilly fashion, and vaudeville antics to influence her comedy and add diversity among diversity in her performance endeavors. ...
Aug 09, 2017•1 hr 33 min
Post law school, Ed wasn't sure how he was supposed to make and maintain adult friendships without the benefit of forced socialization with other lawyers. So, he decided to organize a(n unfortunately large) 12" softball team to add an activity to at least one night of his week (even though he didn't really know much about softball). Now, he's been in enough softball, kickball (?), floor hockey, and 3v3 and full ice hockey leagues that he should probably stop referring to himself as "not an athle...
Aug 02, 2017•1 hr 16 min
Claire Linic has never been calmer than when she is watching middle-aged women foster friendships, fight, host events, and try to sell things on the shows in the Real Housewives franchise. She tells MBS about all of the best and worst wives, the plethora of series and spinoffs, and how she found Keeping Up With the Kardashians to be a gateway into the world of Bravo reality television (and continues to watch Kim's silent contouring videos as a form of relaxation). There's talk of Skinnygirl, the...
Jul 26, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Ever since she witnessed the aura surrounding Tilda while sitting across the aisle from her on a plane, Erin McGathy has not been able to shake her fascination with Swinton's presence, lifestyle, and approach to art. Admittedly a fairly casual fan of Tilda's film work, Erin still cites the way Swinton discusses acting as a collaborative effort and less selfish endeavor as an inspiration to not be too hard on herself as a creator and performer. She even credits Swinton's ability to live happily i...
Jul 19, 2017•1 hr 14 min
If you're looking for a DM, send a DM to Alan Linic. He's only gotten into D&D in the last few years, but his childhood knack of adding environmental elements to every playground game has paid off in spades both as an improviser and a dungeon master. After unloading how the structure of gameplay unfolds, Alan speaks to how he and his friends make D&D a unique adventure each time they convene, the gymnastics he may have to perform if a group is being particularly probing in an area he may...
Jul 12, 2017•1 hr 36 min
Brad Pike finds a morbid curiosity in exploring books and documentaries about cults at least in part because he believes he's a part of one. After spending a lot of time discussing Jonestown and the Order of the Solar Temple, Brad and MBS dig into the cult of improv comedy, Chicago style. Get ready to give up your possessions, pledge your loyalty to the leader, and be reminded that there are people who had to help their parents self-immolate. Notes: Devil's Daughter at iO Chicago Thanks to Cards...
Jul 05, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Thanks to model home furnishings in the house she grew up in, Susan Glynn has rebelled against the status quo of design from a young age. After accomplishing her Limited Too-fueled dream of having a room with bright orange walls, yellow trim, and a blue clouded sky ceiling, she was set off on a journey of thrifty vision and bold choices. Having graduated to living with roommates and now to a significant other, adult Susan finds herself curating her living spaces as a middle ground with her cohab...
Jun 28, 2017•1 hr 29 min
Nicole may not be a lifelong, generations of season tickets Cubs fan, but she is a lifelong baseball fan and she does cite the first time she turned the corner in Wrigleyville to stumble upon Wrigley Field as the moment that cemented her move to Chicago and kick-started her journey to being a Cubs devotee. She swaps dads who love baseball stories with MBS (including the first time they each took their old man to Wrigley), cites all the tiny oddities and large unknowns that make baseball fun for ...
Jun 21, 2017•2 hr 2 min
Savannah Million has put in so much time farming, harvesting, and upgrading you'd think she'd have some fields to show for it. WHICH SHE DOES, but they're all of the digital variety. A longtime fan of the admittedly-flawed Harvest Moon franchise and newer convert to the Animal Crossing games, Savannah unpacks what it is that makes these game mechanics so satisfying and even how the min-maxing of certain traits of the game makes them less fun to traverse though more easily conquered. Stick around...
Jun 14, 2017•1 hr 13 min
Tawny Newsome has left behind the world of relaxers and weaves in favor of her naturally curly black hair, and she's here to extoll the virtues (and explain the difficulties) of a natural hair life. From how it's affected the roles she's called in to audition for to how strangers interact with her, Tawny's cosmetic choice to assimilate less to the general cultural ideal of straight hair has pervaded her day to day life in ways one may not expect. There's also some dissection of how LA's public i...
Jun 07, 2017•1 hr 22 min
Due to a background of study ranging from psychology to physical theater, Mary Cait Walthall has become incredibly mindful of how people communicate with one another. She actively works to impliment nonviolent communication and restorative practices in Chicago Public Schools, and she is always using the wisdom she gleaned from LISPA to be aware of nonverbal communication as a performer, teacher, and restorative justice specialist. The conversation ranges from doing improvisational theatre with E...
May 31, 2017•1 hr 47 min
Ali Barthwell sank her teeth into the sometimes-ridiculous NBC musical drama Smash from its premiere, and she continues to curl up under the blanket of its creative process years after its two season run. She walks the listener through [most of] the many story lines and breaks down the plot holes of the original musical added in the second season, Hit List. Beyond the delicious stretches they ask the audience to be on board for in order to have all the singing happening diegetically, there's a l...
May 24, 2017•1 hr 46 min
Katy, Dylan, and Molly share a love for watching and performing within the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres as well as sharing the stage in Otherworld Theatre Company's forthcoming original play, The Rogue Aviator. Dylan is an Otherworld (and MBSing) vet, Katy is a cast member of OTC's ongoing Sailor Moon parady series called Moon! Prism! Power!, and 10-year-old Molly is Otherworld's first child actor and was previously the youngest podcast host in the iTunes store. We spend some time on each ...
May 17, 2017•1 hr 50 min
Andrew has been an Anglophile since his Nana and Papa's living in Great Britain meant they passed along bits of its influence, pop culture, and kids books and toys on to him. Specifically citing Terry Deary's Horrible Histories series as the spark, Bentley's interest in the monarchy knows few bounds. He can rattle them off in order, expound upon their specific legacies, and cite both inspirations and inaccuracies in pop culture created about monarchs from before and after the creation of the UK....
May 10, 2017•1 hr 15 min
James has been GMing RPGs like a boss for four years as the host of the One Shot Podcast, and he brings his love of tabletop RPG design to MBSing with the same kindness and fervor that pervades their network. From finding the most basic of rules to honing in on how to bring about specific attributes in characters via their abilities, so much design ground is covered. If you're into D&D but have never ventured outside of the dungeon OR if you've always thought tabletop RPGs were only for seri...
May 03, 2017•1 hr 22 min
Hal's enthusiasm knows few bounds, especially when it comes to the joys and silliness of professional wrestling. From his childhood fandom when WWF was only regional wrestling in the Northeast to having every match every week immediately available via the WWE Network, Hal's seen a lot of facets of wrestling at home, ringside, and even during one backstage endeavor (!!). There's talk of wrestler's music endeavors, the wonderful Aronofsky film The Wrestler, and what Hal would try to get over on au...
Apr 26, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Enrico Fermi posed to his colleagues in 1950 that if aliens exist, where the heck are they? The Fermi paradox is a conflict between arguments of scale and probability that seem to favor intelligent life being common in the universe and a total lack of evidence of intelligent life having ever arisen anywhere else. Drew has been pondering this pseudoparadox since he was a science-interested young person devouring Sci-Fi novels and films, and as an adult he's been able to explore more of both the s...
Apr 19, 2017•1 hr 41 min
Alex Kliner has wanted to write film scores since he found out his biggest musical idol (Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails) was getting into the business himself. This self-proclaimed former "mall goth" went from taking piano lessons from an uber Christian teacher to writing music for friends' shows in college to touring with the Second City as a musical director to scoring a crowd-funded feature film and beyond. Get into his influences, methods, and favorite projects to work on as a composer and ...
Apr 12, 2017•1 hr 28 min
Jenn Bane feels she wouldn't be the woman she is today without Neopets; It introduced her to gaming, message boards, and friends she still keeps in touch with. What started as and could have easily remained a conversation about the land of Neopia awaiting users at Neopets.com ends up being a discussion about Jenn and MBS's social habits as young people and how Neopets and youth have changed over the life of the Internet. There's talk of brands, business acumen, and the Disney Channel Original Mo...
Apr 05, 2017•1 hr 2 min
It's always a treat for MBS to share the love of a topic with her guest, and this RENT-head reunion was no exception. Mark saw the show on Broadway with its original cast as a high school southerner doing college visits, and it kinda changed his life. In addition to introducing him to a world of artists and diversity (and disease) he had no concept of, it "reaffirmed and maybe even instilled [his] love of a big ensemble of people trying to tell a meaningful story together." For this hour, there'...
Mar 29, 2017•1 hr 8 min
Author and professional puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal describes her love of puppetry as an interest in the boundless nature of the medium. She can play any type of character, there are countless ways to present the puppets themselves, and combinations of puppet actors and "fleshies" are ripe for new experiences and metaphors for audiences. She even tells a great story about the unfortunate(?) place her hand ended up while on set for Sesame Street. Garner a new appreciation for how the craft of ...
Mar 22, 2017•1 hr 15 min
